Family Medicine Residency Program

Patient Information

The staff of North Mississippi Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Center is dedicated to providing the highest quality of patient care as well as training graduate physicians in the specialty of family medicine.

The FMRC functions like other family physicians’ offices, but in addition trains physicians that have graduated from allopathic (M.D. training) or osteopathic (D.O. training) medical schools. This specialty training requires three years.

Each physician on our staff has his or her own group of patients. As a patient at the Center, you will be assigned or you may request one of the residents to care for you. This doctor will change every two to three years. In addition, your care will be supervised by a faculty member who will be your family physician as needed over the long-term. FMRC patients get the benefit of several physicians caring for their health care needs. In turn, patients provide a valuable educational experience for our residents.

We appreciate your selection of FMRC to serve your medical and health needs, and we will do all we can to provide you with the very best care possible.

Medical Education
Medical education occurs in three phases: medical school, post-graduate residency (specialty training) and continuing education. Some of our physicians graduated from allopathic schools of medicine which emphasize disease oriented care and confer the M.D. degree. Some of our physicians graduated from osteopathic schools of medicine which emphasize total patient care as well as some extra emphasis on the musculoskeletal system. The osteopathic school of medicine confers the D.O. degree.

Residency training is specialty training beyond medical school. The residency training in family medicine requires three years and gives the physicians training in pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, community medicine, geriatrics and the family as a unit of health care. This training at an accredited program makes the doctor eligible to take the certifying exam of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Continuing Education
Continuing education is a requirement to maintain certification with the American Board of Family Medicine. All Family Medicine Residency Center faculty members are committed to continuing medical education and complete 150 hours of courses every three years in order to retain board certification.

Ancillary Services
In addition to physicians, the Family Medicine Residency Center staff includes a registered dietitian, a doctoral-level pharmacist and a social worker to meet patient’s health care needs. The FMRC also provides an array of laboratory and radiology services. All services are available by physician referral.

The FMRC has been recognized by the Diabetes Physician Recognition Program developed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and American Diabetes Association. This voluntary program helps physicians use evidence-based measures and provide excellent care to their patients with diabetes. Participating physicians are rewarded for taking the steps needed to ensure excellent care—by identifying patients already getting the care according to the standards and by going the extra mile to identify patients who would benefit from additional interventions.

Office Hours
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday

Nurse Link® is available for after hours calls at 1-800-882-6274.

After midnight, call (662) 377-3000 for the physician on call.

Patient Information Form

Click here for a Patient Information Form to complete and bring to your first visit.

Our Faculty
Each patient is assigned to a faculty physician who serves as head of a family physician team within the Family Medicine Residency Center. This system allows one physician to follow your health care long-term while the resident assigned to your care will change every two to three years.

For routine visits and chronic illness care, every effort will be made to schedule your appointment with your assigned physician. If you need to be seen for an acute illness or an emergency, the first available physician or whoever is on call can see you. If you prefer to wait for your regular physician, you may do so.

Acute Illness & Emergencies

It is always best to contact your physician first in event of acute illness or emergency. You may call our office at (662) 377-2189. After hours, please call Nurse Link at 1-800-882-6274 or, after midnight, call (662) 377-3000 for the physician on call. Calling us first can save time and money if the problem can be handled in our office rather than the hospital’s Emergency Department. If a trip to the Emergency Department is warranted, calling us first can prevent delays in treatment.

Acute illnesses such as fever in children, infection, or incapacitating sudden pain, lacerations or injuries should be seen on the day they start by your assigned physician, if available, or by another FMRC physician. Problems such as hypertension, school physical exams, a pain or ache that has been going on for several days can wait for regular scheduled appointments with your assigned physician.

Prescriptions & Refills
Just as we cannot treat illnesses over the telephone, we cannot prescribe medications over the telephone. Long-term medication refills are handled during regular office hours and only if you are actively under our care. If you need long-term medication refilled, have the name of the prescription, the physician name, the pharmacy telephone number and the dosage when you call.

Please call for prescription refills early in the day to allow us ample time to handle the request. Otherwise, it may be necessary for you to wait an additional day on your refill. Phone requests for refill medications can take up to three days. No routine prescriptions will be handled after regular office hours.

Fees & Insurance
The Family Medicine Residency Center bills insurance as a courtesy to our patients. Payment is requested at the time of service for all non-covered services and any co-payments required by your insurance contract. For your convenience, we accept payment by cash, check or credit card. Should you have financial problems that will delay payment of your bill, please contact us. We will make every effort to work out an acceptable payment plan to enable you to take care of your obligation.

Preventive Medicine

Even when you are healthy and feel nothing is wrong, it is important to have periodic checkups with your physician. The Family Medicine Residency Center recommends the following general plan:

Well Baby & Child Care
Checkups and periodic EPSDT immunization are advised at the following intervals:

At birth-3 days of age

2 weeks

2 months

4 months

6 months

9 months

12 months

15 months

18 months

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

Two physical exams and lab screens between ages 6-12 years

Two physical exams and lab screens between ages 13-17 years

Adult Health Screens
(age 18 & older)

Upon becoming a regular patient with the Family Medicine Residency Center, it is advised that you have a complete physical exam and certain baseline laboratory tests that your physician will suggest depending on your age and general health.

Your physician will recommend how often you should see your physician and what should be checked. We also suggest calling our office each year at your birthday to arrange for the appropriate checkup.

Join us in the fight to keep you healthy!

If you smoke, stop. We can help.

Check for new lumps, especially in the mouth, neck and groin. Report these to your doctor if they persist more than one month.

Women, check your breasts for lumps every month. If you don’t know how, ask us to teach you.

Vaginal bleeding after menopause should be reported to the doctor.

Men, check for lumps on the testicles every month. If you don’t know how, ask us to teach you.

If you are overweight, now is the best time to start a diet. We have a clinical dietitian who can help you.

Patient Rights & Responsibilities

North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC) system recognizes its obligations and responsibility to provide each of its patients with the care most conducive to his/her comfort and well being. It further respects the rights of the patient as an individual with unique health care needs. In providing this care NMMC has the right to expect behavior on the part of the patients, relatives and friends which is reasonable and responsible.

A patient or legal guardian of a patient has the right to:

impartial access to treatment or accommodations regardless of race, creed, sex, national origin, age, religion, handicap or source of payment for care

be informed of all patient rights at the time of admission and the rules and regulations applicable to his/her conduct as a patient

be treated with courtesy, respect, individual dignity and privacy

access to people outside the facility by means of visitors and by verbal and written communications

expect all communications and other records pertaining to his/her care including source of payment for treatment to be treated as confidential

to provide accurate and complete information about present and past complaints, illnesses, hospitalizations, medications and other matters relating to his/her health

to report unexpected changes in his/her condition to the responsible practitioner

to report whether he/she clearly understands the course of treatment and what is expected of him/her

for following the treatment plan recommended by the practitioner primarily responsible for his/her care

for his/her actions if he/she refuses treatment or does not follow the practitioner’s instructions

for assuming and fulfilling appropriately and promptly the financial obligations for health care

for following rules and regulations, such as control of noise, smoking and number of visitors

for being respectful of the property of other persons and the facility

for not participating in the use of illegal drugs and/or alcohol

for not bringing firearms, explosives or knives within the boundaries of the facility property

for participating reasonably in discharge planning

for keeping appointments and if unable to do so, for any reason, notifying the responsible practitioner or facility

to notify your insurance company within 24 hours of admission (See back of your insurance card for instructions.)

Patient Satisfaction

After receiving services at the FMRC, you may receive a patient satisfaction survey in the mail. One way we measure how well we serve our patients' needs is through patient satisfaction surveys. Our organization has enlisted Press Ganey, the nation's largest patient satisfaction survey company, to identify opportunities for improvement in patient satisfaction.

If you receive a survey, we encourage you to fill it out and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided.